Before facing No. 24 Illinois at Xfinity Pavilion on Sunday, the Maryland volleyball team had not played a home game in over a month. It went 5-7 during its 12-game road trip and finished the stretch on a four-match losing skid.

The Terps got off to an energetic start against the Fighting Illini in front of their home crowd.

When an early rally ended with an Illinois error to give Maryland a 4-2 lead in the first set, outside hitter Gia Milana turned to the crowd, pumped her first and screamed. After the team took an 8-4 advantage, forcing the Fighting Illini to call timeout, fans gave the players a standing ovation.

Even though the Terps dropped the first set, 25-18, they used the crowd’s energy to bounce back and push the match to five frames. They could not close out the contest, though, and lost to Illinois, 3-2.

“It was a very emotional game,” middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor said. “It’s always fun to play in front of a home crowd that is really involved … it really pumps you up.”

After Illinois finished the first set on a 10-3 run, the Terps regrouped to even the match with a 25-22 second-set triumph. Early on in the frame, they scored four straight points, including three service aces from libero Kelsey Wicinski, to break an 9-9 deadlock.

Milana, who struggled with attacking errors in the Terps’ first three Big Ten matches, made six kills in the second set and notched 16 overall. She also hit the ball at a .229 clip, marking her most efficient scoring performance in conference play.

“It was just the most mature match she has played,” coach Steve Aird said. “She did a great job managing the game, and I think she grew up a lot tonight.”

With Maryland ahead, 23-21, in a must-win fourth set that featured 11 ties, Aird turned to the crowd, clapped his hands and shouted “Let’s go!” When opposite hitter Angel Gaskin clinched the set with a kill, the standing fans let out a roar.

Aird often tries to be calm during games, but he sensed an opportunity for his team to get back in the match if fans provided more energy.

“That was the player in me coming out,” Aird said of his interaction with the crowd. “You want to create energy. You want to be someone people look at and get fired up about. We don’t have enough of that yet.”

He pointed to a moment in a Big Ten match last night between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 19 Ohio State as an example of the emotion he wants to exist in College Park.

“There was a kid on [Ohio State] that was just wagging her finger at 8,000 people,” Aird said of the Buckeyes’ upset against the Cornhuskers. “That was pretty dope.”

The Xfinity Pavilion crowd rose to its feet once again after the Terps took a 14-13 fifth-set lead. However, the Terps failed to close out the match, falling, 16-14, in the final frame.

Even so, players appreciated the atmosphere fans created. Milana said it helped them play their most competitive match since beating Oklahoma on Sept. 16.

“When we’re away and we get a huge point, the crowd doesn’t go crazy,” Milana said. “It’s kind of quiet, and you’re like, ‘What the heck?’ At home when we have a big play, we get so excited.”